Most Valuable Players
A Guide to Austin Stage Actors
Fri., Sept. 28, 2001
Paul Norton
On the scene since: 1996
MVP for: State Theater Co.
Recent Roles: Claudius, Hamlet, Austin Shakespeare Festival, 2001; Mr. Sowerberry/Dr. Grimwig, Oliver!, Austin Musical Theatre, 2001; Lear, King Lear, Public Domain, 2001; Banquo, A Macbeth, State, 2000; Larry, Closer, Zachary Scott Theatre, 2000; Jim, The Weir, State, 2000.
Honors: Payne award & Critics Table nomination, King Lear; Payne & Critics Table nominations, Closer; Critics Table nomination, The Weir.
Few actors are as painstaking in their preparation for a role or as capable of bringing all that nuanced prep work to what they do onstage. The variation and detail of his Larry in Closer was scintillating: downtrodden loser, dangerously angered spouse, lustful subversive, happy lover -- Norton had it all. Just 'cause he comes from England -- Leicester, in the midlands -- people think he's some Shakespearean buff. He is superb when he takes on the Bard, but he's just as good in modern roles that call for either sophistication or primal energy.
